Even though Utah’s education officials have created what are considered more stringent testing standards than the federal mandate under the No Child Left Behind Act, Utah schools have fallen behind in performance.
More Utah schools have stumbled in their effort to meet federally mandated No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education standards, according to 2005-2006 data released Thursday. Continue reading
This week’s Salt Lake City Weekly has a feature article on Bruce Funk, the former Emery County Clerk. Funk continues to be a voice against inadequate voting machines and for voting integregity.
This March, Funk became the nation’s second county election official to test the new wave of vote-by-computer machines by bringing in computer technicians to try to hack one. A few weeks later, Funk was out on his ear. Depending on whom you believe, he either resigned in frustration or was maneuvered out of the office to which he was so often re-elected he’s lost count of how many terms he served.
Earlier this month, Funk brought a case against Emery County to get copies of the minutes from a closed-door meeting Emery County Commissioners held in late March with representatives of the lieutenant governor, who is the state’s top election official, and representatives of Diebold, the company that sold Utah its new voting machines. After the off-the-books session, Funk was called in by commissioners and—he claims—bullied into resigning. Funk quickly thought better and informed commissioners he would be staying to finish out his term, but locks were changed and the Emery County Republican Party was asked to select a replacement.
Funk feels certain if the minutes and recordings of the hush-hush meetings were unsealed, they would show the maker of voting equipment conniving with state politicians to get rid of an elected county official who raised uncomfortable questions—confirming some of the worst fears of conspiracy theorists.
Fueling the conspiracy fire, the Utah State Records Committee denied Funk’s request, ruling the meetings for which Funk wanted records were properly closed to the public.
Private Fuel Storage Chairman John Parkyn is still holding out for an interim nuclear waste storage site in Utah, according to a Deseret News article this morning.
Parkyn will not release any details on his “plans”.
The article also mentions the proposal of the Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear industry’s lobbying organization, to offer tens of millions of dollars, increasing as time progresses, to state sthat is approved to host an interim storage site.
The waste needs to stay in the state in which it is generated. The problems inherent with sending nuclear waste to other states are monumental (e.g., accident/exposure risk), not to mention the fact that states such as Utah don’t want the waste.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged environment, goshutes, nuclear issues, private fuel storage, Utah
I just completed the 2006 League of Women Voters Online Candidate Questionnaire. Here are the questions and my answers (I kept my answers as brief as possible):
Candidate Background Information:
Occupation:
Continue reading
The House of Representatives has approved three measures to “control” the illegal immigrnat issue.
One of those measures includes building a 700 mile border fence.
All three of Utah’s representatives voted in approval of the Illegal Immigrant Deterrence and Public Safety Act and the Effective Immigration Enforcement and Community Protection Act.
Some of the bills’ provisions are: allowing local and state authorities to enforce immigration law; creating criminal penalties for building tunnels across the border; and making it easier to deport alien gang members.
Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, voted for the measures. Cannon has been targeted by activists against illegal immigration, and faced a primary election challenge, because of his role as President Bush’s point man on comprehensive immigration reform.
“These three bills can make an immediate impact in securing our borders and strengthening our nation. They are a step in the right direction, but more still needs to be done,” Cannon said in a statement. “Congress needs to actually fix our broken immigration system, by solving the entire problem.”
The measures all still need Senate approval.
Having seen “the fence” in El Paso and visited Tuscon where I heard personal accounts about immigrants crossed the desert in an effort to seek out a better life, I would urge our elected officials to stop doing what they continually do in an effort to “fix” problems – that is providing “band-aid solutions” that end up costing taxpayers a lot of money and don’t really solve problems.
I mean after all, we are dealing with human beings here. Human beings who need help and come to America, the land of opportunity, to seek a better life. That’s the story for most of those folks who illegally or otherwise cross the border into our land.
We are being fenced in while others are being fenced out. That is not a solution and it doesn’t make me feel more “secure”.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged government, human needs, human rights, immigrant issues, immigration laws, politics, Utah
Since the last time I wrote about The Proposal by California to the GPUS on Utah, there have been changes and amendments. The proposal has now been amended to include Texas, which withdrew its single proposal to counter the CA proposal and then joined forces with CA to provide a proposal for an “independent” investigation.
The proposal is FAR from proposing an “independent” investigation, by virtue of the fact that it calls for a “resolution committee” to examine the results of such an “independent” investigation, including members from “both sides” of the Utah split. Additionally, the background information continues to remain erroneous.
Here is the text of the Formation Of An Independent Investigative Committee Regarding the Affiliated GPU Amended:
Continue reading
U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Laporte has determined that, due to inadequte environmental reviews, the Bush administration’s rewrite of roadless forest policy is denied.
A Bush administration policy aimed at re-opening access to more than 58 million acres of roadless national forests closed off under President Clinton was struck down Wednesday by a federal judge in California.
“The American people have spoken loud and clear on this issue and they want these valuable public lands protected,” said Anna Aurilio, legislative director of U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
Twenty environmental groups and attorneys general from four states challenged the Bush rule in court, arguing that the administration did not comply with the required environmental assessments and endangered species reviews before enacting the rule.
The Utah Governor’s Office is currently developing a “multiple use” plan for forests in Utah, with plans to submit it to the National Forest Service Office in November.
“Until we get other guidelines, we’re responding to the Bush administration’s direction,” Stevens said.{Lynn Stevens, public lands policy coordinator for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.,}
But critics of Utah’s roadless petition process believe the state will have to adhere to the new judicial ruling, at least until it can be sorted out on appeal.
“The Utah plan is not premised on protection. It’s premised on allowing state and county planners to go through Utah’s roadless inventory [about 5 million acres] and throw out all the conservation measures they don’t like,” said Kevin Mueller, executive director of the Utah Environmental Congress.
Off road vehicle users are not happy. Michael Swenson, executive director of the Utah Shared Access Alliance, an off-highway vehicle advocacy group:
“We’re not going away. We’re not saying this is over. We’re hopeful that an appropriate remedy can be struck to protect access to valuable recreation areas,” Swenson said.
I have been following the case of the Cottonwood Heights Mobile Home Residents who are facing losing their homes due to development of the property on which they reside. Residents and supporters pleaded their case before the Cottonwood Heights Council last night in an effort to at least get the deadline extended for their eviction from their homes.
Today’s Salt Lake Tribune has an update on this situation.
Meadows[Mobile Home Park] resident Brian Godfrey said that 274 people are affected by the sale of the 50-year-old park to Gust. Most of the residents believed the area was protected by a family trust and would remain a mobile-home community in perpetuity.
“There are many in the park who have no means to move their homes. Those homes will be fodder for the bulldozer,” Godfrey said. Some of the mobile homes were built before 1976 and federal law says they cannot be moved to other parks.
Susan Johnston, president of the Meadows residents association, asked for more time and resources – and requested that any promises be put in writing.
“It costs up to $10,000 to move these homes. This is an extreme hardship,” she said. “Many of these residents will be bankrupt and some of the senior citizens will lose their independence.”
A decision is planned to be made about extending the deadline in October.
The Utah State Legislature reconvenes today in a special session to consider the funding of road and transit expansion.
About 100 people rallied yesterday in downtown SLC to urge lawmakers to vote for a sales tax increase to fund transportation improvements.
While such increases are good to fund transportation, I have two opinions on the matter:
I also would be in favor of the development and implementation of a “wealth tax”. Any net worth over $1 million would be taxed. Millionaires would still remain millionaires and would also be paying more of a fair share towards services for people.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged environment, growth, mass transportation, politics, Utah
Today’s News
Summary of the news [Salt Lake Tribune]
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged environment, goshutes, nuclear issues, private fuel storage, Utah
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 